JHF Community Outdoor Classroom

The Jack Hazeldine Foundation (JHF) uses mentoring, tutoring and bespoke therapeutic provisions to inspire and empower young lives. We support vulnerable young people who either have special educational needs or disabilities, face exclusion from school or are at risk of criminal exploitation. The pandemic seriously impacted our ability to interact with young people face-to-face. Despite serious threats of regression, self-harm and disengagement, our programmes adapted and thrived through the pandemic. Our community stood up and supported us; together we built an outdoor classroom enabling open-air workshops and mindfulness during the heart of the pandemic, empowering resilience, and fostering community spirit. Our outdoor learning opportunities are unique, environmentally impactful, and profound, enabling a fully inclusive and accessible educational experience. This year, we have increased our bespoke mentoring placements by 65%, and supported over 100 additional children and their families with outdoor learning workshops, Lego therapy and short-term COVID-19 targeted interventions. We are humbled by the power of community collaboration and wish to thank all involved. Our organisation is now significantly better placed to react to the needs of our beneficiaries, with increased capacity and resources to support a sustainable future. “Mentoring made me feel…free” – JHF Mentee, 16 years old